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Selected Verse: Psalms 78:18 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Ps 78:18 |
King James |
And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
in their heart-- (Mat 15:19).
for their lust--literally, "soul," or, "desire."
provoking--and--tempted--illustrated by their absurd doubts, |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
And they tempted God in their heart - Exo 16:2. The heart was the source of the evil. They were not satisfied with what he gave them. They asked for that which would be more agreeable to them, and they did it with a complaining and a murmuring spirit. It is not wrong in itself to ask of God that which will be better than what we now possess, for that is the object of all our prayers; but this may be done from a wrong motive - for mere self-gratification, as was the case here; or it may be with a complaining and dissatisfied spirit, such as was evinced on this occasion. In such a case we cannot expect the prayer to be answered "except as a punishment."
By asking meat for their lust - Food. The word "meat" here does not necessarily denote animal food, as it does with us. They asked another kind of food than manna; and they did it, not because this was "necessary" to sustain life, but in order to gratify their appetites. The original word here, however, is not "lusts," but "souls;" that is, "they asked food for themselves." |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
Tempted - Desired a proof of God's power. Lust - Not for their necessary subsistence, but out of an inordinate and luxurious appetite. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
By asking meat for their lust - לנפשם lenaphsham, "for their souls," i.e., for their lives; for they said in their hearts that the light bread, the manna, was not sufficient to sustain their natural force, and preserve their lives. It seems, however, from the expression, that they were wholly carnal; that they had no spirituality of mind; they were earthly, animal, and devilish. |
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: